1 . Walter Benjamin, the German philosopher, once noted that boredom was the “dream bird that hatches the egg of experience”. However, the creative flights of fancy which often arise from having little to do are being killed off by social media, researchers argued. Viewing mindlessly through attention-grabbing posts and videos prevents “profound (深层的) boredom” that can drive people on to new passions or skills. Instead, people find themselves in a state of “superficial boredom”, which does not motivate creative thought.
Dr Timothy Hill, leader of the research team at the University of Bath, said, “The problem we observed was that social media can ease superficial boredom. But that also consumes time and energy, and may prevent people progressing to a state of profound boredom, where they might discover new passions. Profound boredom may sound like a negative concept but, in fact, it can be intensely positive if people are given the chance for undisturbed thinking and development.
Researchers interviewed 15 people during the pandemic (流行病), when boredom was more likely because of restrictions. Many described being trapped in regularly daily walks and watching television, with many turning to social media to pass the time. But although the participants said that social media provided a temporary escape from superficial boredom, it also appeared to exacerbate it, leaving them feeling they had wasted their time.
The pandemic was a painful and consuming experience for thousands of less fortunate people. But there are stories of those in lockdown who found new hobbies, careers or directions in life. Switching off devices could help people reach the state of boredom which pushes them on to new hobbies or achievements.
This research has given us a window to understand how the “always-on”, 24/7 culture and devices that promise an abundance of information and entertainment may be fixing our superficial boredom but are actually preventing us from finding more meaningful things.
1. Why are Walter Benjamin’s words mentioned?| A．To call for attention to the research on boredom. |
| B．To comment on the strategies to face loneliness. |
| C．To offer advice on developing creative thinking. |
| D．To clarify the problem caused by social media. |
| A．Profound boredom is of value. |
| B．Social media can fuel passions. |
| C．The research has some limitations. |
| D．Creative thought is easily disturbed. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Break. |
| C．Inspire. | D．Worsen. |
| A．Why people enjoy boredom |
| B．How boredom helps kill time |
| C．Why being bored may be good for you |
| D．How social media blocks creative ideas |
I like staying overnight at my Gramma’s house — that is, until Gramma starts telling me how wonderful my cousin Maya is. Then it’s Maya this and Maya that until I don’t ever want to hear another word about her.
That’s why I wasn’t too excited when Gramma called me on the phone to “come on over and bring your pajamas.” When I got there, it was worse than I’d expected. There, in Grandpa’s big leather rocker, sat Maya, all dressed up and formal-looking and wearing fancy shoes as if she’d just been to a party.
“Surprise, Kristen!” Gramma said. “Your cousin Maya and her parents have traveled in from the East Coast on business. Maya gets to stay with us this afternoon.” Gramma chattered away about how excited she’d been for this surprise get-together, and how cousins ought to get to know each other better.
I hung my baseball cap in the closet and set my backpack by the stairway, all the time smiling and nodding as if I’d been waiting forever for this chance to spend an afternoon with Maya. Grandpa’s chair squawked (咯咯叫) as Maya rocked back and forth. It’s the chair I like best in the house, the one I usually sit in. I sat down on the sofa across from her.
Shortly, Gramma went off to the kitchen to “see about some lunch,” she’d said. That left me stuck in the living room with rocking Maya.
She was still small but taller than I’d remembered her from her last visit four years ago. She was good at small talk, though, and was chatting away about how nice it was to see me again. But I could tell that she didn’t really think so. The last time she was here, we’d had hours of fun together building caves out of Gramma’s sofa pillows.
After that, I’d heard about her only through Gramma’s tales. Maya taking piano lessons. Maya learning math. Maya, Maya, Maya. Now Maya was here, looking great with the latest haircut and a fancy dress.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Glancing down at my jeans and my old sneakers, I wished I hadn’t come.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“How do you know all these things about me?” I asked.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . “Are you OK, Cassie?” Jonah asked, from the doorway of the Sea Holly Cafe.
Cassie had been sitting on a chair outside for the past 10 minutes, but not really taking in the beauty of the sea.
“Oh, I should be getting back to work.” She rose hurriedly.
“We’re not busy, take your time.” Jonah came with a cappuccino for her. “Thanks.” She accepted the coffee, “Everything’s fine.” Then Jonah nodded, revealing a comforting smile, and went back inside.
He was a great boss, but Cassie didn’t feel like telling him what was wrong.
Cassie had gone to study fine art hopefully but dropped out after only a year due to the unbearable homesickness. Since then, she hadn’t touched her paints for a whole year. Today was doomed to be a sad date, the anniversary of her exciting plans turning to dust. She felt a crushing sense of disappointment. In her painting, she had captured a good likeness of the cloudy sky and the reflection of the dying light upon the water, but the picture did have a sad, dreary (沉闷的) quality.
About 20 minutes later, she was shocked by a voice at her shoulder, “That’s beautiful.”
Cassie turned, and there was a woman wearing a blue coat. The woman eyed it again. “You have talent, but there is much sadness in it, for one so young.” Cassie’s eyes were filled with tears. “My name’s Willow,” the woman said kindly, “Why not try painting the sunrise instead, my dear? You might find it helps.”
With Willow’s words echoing in her brain, Cassie rose an hour earlier the next day, caught a bus to the beach and began to paint again.
When she finished, Jonah was just opening up. He picked the painting up and appreciated it at eye height. “Hey, this is good. It’s really —“For a moment he struggled for the word, then found it and turned to her, beaming, “Optimistic!”
In her picture the sun was powering into the sky, casting a clear, golden pathway across the sea.
1. Which of the following best explains “He was a great boss” underlined in paragraph 5?| A．Jonah offered a coffee to Cassie. |
| B．Jonah ran a successful cafe business. |
| C．Jonah figured out what was wrong with Cassie. |
| D．Jonah was considerate of Cassie’s emotional upset. |
| A．That her paints were covered with dust. |
| B．That her homesickness was aroused again. |
| C．That her original plan was abandoned midway. |
| D．That her painting was full of a sorrowful and dull quality. |
| A．It was more beautiful. | B．It might cheer Cassie up. |
| C．It had artistic inspiration. | D．It made a difference to Willow. |
| A．The Sun Always Rises | B．Every Man Has Its Price |
| C．Strike While the Iron Is Hot | D．A Good Medicine Tastes Bitter |
The Right Thing
My mother worked as a housekeeper and she was often given used toys as well as many other goodies by her clients. My elder sister and I always loved sharing the recycled books and board games brought home by my beloved mom, which we considered great gifts life presented us.
The long-awaited Christmas finally approached. One December day, an old model toy car arrived in the load of goods. It was as long as my forearm and took both hands to lift. My sister didn’t want it, so it was all mine. I immediately set down to wiping it clean and polishing it to a bright candy-apple red. It turned to be a thing of beauty, and I became overjoyed at possessing it. My elder sister was amazed at the newly-polished, refreshing toy car, with a hint of regret and envy in her eyes.
As was planned, our relatives from France came to visit us that Christmas. It was a time when the family bond got strengthened. I shared the prized toy car with Alex, my young French cousin. Eyes glued to it, he fell in love with the wonderful, shiny red automobile the instant he saw it. It was a rare moment to see him feeling so relieved and happy. He’d been unlucky so far in life, suffering severe, life-threatening illnesses as a child, leaving him mentally and physically stuck and the family starved of cash. Of course, such lovely toys like my dear model car were unreachable dreams for him.
Seeing Alex’s consuming thrill brought by the red car, I was seized by immense joy as well. But contrary to Alex’s excitement, a voice inside me constantly reminded, “Watch out! He’d keep it for himself.”, which got me faintly worried. I followed my cousin for fear of something.
My mother also noticed Alex’s fondness for the car. Approaching me, she asked gently in a low voice, “Would you like to give it to Alex?”
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Giving or keeping? I struggled with myself.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the moment of parting, my model car went with Alex.
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5 . “Regrets, I’ve had a few. But then again, too few to mention,” Frank Sinatra chanted in his 1969 hit “My Way”. The song’s idea is attractive: that anyone can just declare what’s done is done and move on. Some take the declaration a step further and claim they have no regrets at all. Whether a boast or an actual attitude, “no regrets” suggests that life can and should be lived without looking through the rear-view mirror.
Easier said than done, though. In 2020, author Daniel H. Pink launched the World Regret Survey, the largest ever survey on the topic. With his research team, Pink asked more than 15,000 people in 105 countries, “How often do you look back on your life and wish you had done things differently?” 82% said regret is at least an occasional part of their life; roughly 21% said they feel regret “all the time.” Only 1% said they never feel regret.
If you are of the “no regrets” type, you might think that all this regret is a recipe for unhappiness. But that isn’t the case. True, being overwhelmed by regret is indeed bad for you. But going to the other extreme may be even worse. To rid yourself of regrets doesn’t free you from shame or sorrow; it leads you to make the same mistakes again and again. To truly get over our guilt requires that we put regret in its proper place.
As uncomfortable as it is, regret is an amazing cognitive (认知) achievement. If today your relationship with your partner has soured, your regret might mentally take you back to last year. You would remember your being mean and sensitive, and then imagine yourself showing more patience, being kind instead of hurtful at key moments. Then you would fast-forward to today and see how your relationship could be progressing instead of languishing.
But regret doesn’t have to be left unmanaged. The trick is to acknowledge it and use it for learning and improvement. You can be honest with yourself about what went wrong and use that knowledge to enjoy better relationships in the future.
1. What should we do if we have had a bitter quarrel with a close friend according to Frank Sinatra?| A．Attract more people to your argument. |
| B．Send him/her a letter of apology. |
| C．Boast about being more reasonable. |
| D．Forget about it and just let it go. |
| A．We can do nothing about regret. |
| B．Unhappiness results from regret. |
| C．Ignoring regrets is missing the opportunity to improve. |
| D．Ridding yourself of regrets helps free you from sorrow. |
| A．Improving. |
| B．Healing. |
| C．Showing up. |
| D．Breaking up. |
| A．Regret to become smarter-if you let it. |
| B．Long for a different past? Regret it! |
| C．Regret? Not my way! |
| D．Stay away! Regret will heal itself. |
6 . When Amanda Moore noticed that the new student from Mexico always sat alone at lunch, she decided to befriend Rafael Anaya. She also noticed that he
Actually, Rafael always
The next day Amanda handed the letter to Rafael and waited for his
Amanda’s mother felt
| A．appeared | B．happened | C．struggled | D．managed |
| A．prepare | B．join | C．leave | D．pay |
| A．saved | B．cost | C．earned | D．proved |
| A．wept | B．listened | C．chatted | D．laughed |
| A．bad | B．curious | C．glad | D．doubtful |
| A．painfully | B．hurriedly | C．carefully | D．correctly |
| A．arrival | B．comment | C．appreciation | D．reply |
| A．sitting | B．waiting | C．working | D．singing |
| A．put up with | B．work on | C．show off | D．look forward to |
| A．popularity | B．difference | C．choice | D．plan |
| A．competition | B．typing | C．travel | D．communication |
| A．easier | B．quicker | C．simpler | D．harder |
| A．English | B．psychology | C．math | D．Spanish |
| A．widely | B．deeply | C．gently | D．wisely |
| A．discussion | B．suffering | C．friendship | D．donation |
7 . People spend too much time and effort trying to control anxiety these days. Here are some things you can do to help minimize anxiety’s negative effects.
ACT guides people to see their unpleasant emotions as just feelings and accept that parts of life are hard. Doctors encourage patients to begin a dialogue with anxious thoughts.
Make lifestyle adjustments.
Work out regularly. When tiredness and stress leave you more exposed to anxiety, a well-balanced diet and adequate rest are helpful.
As a specialist, Arthur also shares her experiences on the website, openly discussing her anxiety has transformed her relationship with it. “I’m learning to live in harmony, as much as possible, with this thing that is part of me,” she says. “It’s not always pleasant, but I accept it.
| A．Accept it. |
| B．Develop a sense of humor. |
| C．I may be more anxious in the future. |
| D．To some extent, I can take care of my anxiety. |
| E．Above all, exercise can help you manage it better. |
| F．Learning to live with anxiety is an individual process. |
| G．They want to examine the causes of patients’ feelings. |
| A．He did Gloria a favor. | B．He learned about the rules. | C．He collected the stuff. |
I began to lose hope. It seemed that there was little chance that my great-grandmother was able to heal (康复). My blind, 94-year-old great-grandmother was sleeping soundly in the hospital bed. As l sat quietly with my family, I listened to the sounds of the machines that kept her alive. Her face was pale and empty. She was no longer the cheerful person I had always known.
It seemed that every day she got worse. She might not make it through Christmas. I tried to think of a present to give to her. Since she was blind, I would have to get her a gift that she didn’t have to see to appreciate, but that she could feel with her hands. I remembered that when she lived with us she always wanted to touch and play with my stuffed animals (填充动物玩具). Her favorites were my unique stuffed bears.
I knew right then what to get. She always wanted one for herself! I would have a teddy bear made especially for her. “Great-grandma’s Bear” is what I named the brown, stuffed animal — “Bear” for short. The bear was quite charming with his tiny black button nose and big chocolate eyes. I looked forward to visiting my great-grandmother on Christmas morning and seeing the look on her face when I gave Bear to her. The clay came more quickly than I thought. I carried Bear in my arms as I walked to Room 208 with my family.
There was my great-grandmother, sitting in her bed. Her eyes were wide open. I think she was sensing that we were coming. A smile grew on her face as we sat on her bed, close to her weak body hidden under the covers. “Merry Christmas!” my dad said. We talked with my great-grandmother for a while until it was time to give her the gifts we had brought. My mother gave her fresh-smelling baby powder because she could never have enough of it. My father brought her favorite candies. Now it was my turn.
Paragraph 1:
I placed the bear in her gentle, skinny hands.
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Paragraph 2:
From that day on, amazingly, my great-grandmother started to heal.
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10 . I touch my father's shoulder to let him know we're here. But he doesn't
In my mind I beg her
The two of them remain quiet, holding hands. Every fiber of my being wants to
Despite all the words in my head, something
"I love you, Grandpa."
"I love you, too."
He doesn't speak her name but it doesn't matter. Names aren't all that important.
1.| A．imagine | B．consider | C．recognize | D．trust |
| A．smile | B．weep | C．secret | D．place |
| A．spread | B．cause | C．progress | D．rush |
| A．initially | B．politely | C．merely | D．silently |
| A．table | B．room | C．bag | D．chair |
| A．floods | B．makes | C．breaks | D．feels |
| A．reaches | B．leaves | C．returns | D．hears |
| A．raises | B．discovers | C．kisses | D．grasps |
| A．question | B．result | C．gesture | D．hand |
| A．seeking for | B．paying off | C．responding to | D．calling of |
| A．Suspect | B．challenge | C．accept | D．decline |
| A．suggest | B．ask | C．answer | D．guess |
| A．conversation | B．discussion | C．health | D．interest |
| A．usual | B．powerful | C．disturbing | D．unbelievable |
| A．impressions | B．words | C．thoughts | D．sights |
